Arati Das (1944 – 6 February 2020), known professionally as Miss Shefali, was an Indian Bengali actress and dancer who was recognized for her work in
Bengali cinema. She had worked with film director
Satyajit Ray in classics like
Pratidwandi
''Pratidwandi'' ( en, The Adversary, Siddharta and the City, italic=yes) is a 1970 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It is the first part of the Calcutta Trilogy. ''Pratid ...
and
Seemabaddha
''Seemabaddha'' ( bn, সীমাবদ্ধ ''Shimabôddho''; English title: ''Company Limited'') is a 1971 social drama Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on the novel ''Seemabaddha'' by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It stars Bar ...
. She is known as the Queen of Cabaret.
Early life and background
Arati Das was the youngest of three sisters from a
Bengali Hindu
Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Ben ...
family of
Narayanganj,
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
(now in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
) which migrated to India during the
Partition of Bengal. She started performing
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
at the age of 11 at Firpo's hotel and later in the
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
to earn for her family and then there was no looking back.
Career
Arati Das had made her film debut in Bengali film named ''
Chowringhee
Chowringhee (also Chourangi) is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Chowringhee Road (officially Jawaharlal Nehru Road) runs on its western side. A neighbourhood steeped in history, it is a ...
'', in which she acts with actors like
Supriya Devi
Supriya Devi (Supriya Choudhury; 8 January 1933 – 26 January 2018) was an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema for more than 50 years. She is best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak's Bengali film '' Megh ...
,
Uttam Kumar
Uttam Kumar ( bn, উত্তম কুমার; born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), popularly known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian actor, producer, director, script writer, composer, and singer who predom ...
,
Utpal Dutt
Utpal Dutta () (29 March 1929 – 19 August 1993) was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little Th ...
, and Biswajit. Besides films, she also acted in several stage plays and theater. Her plays include ''Samrat O Sundari'', ''Saheb Bibi Golam'', and ''Ashlil''. She was also a writer. Her autobiography ''Sandhya Rater Shefali'' (Shefali of the Evenings and Nights) was published recently.
Personal life
An American National named Robin once wanted to marry her but for her family she decided to stay in India as unmarried.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
Indian female dancers
1944 births
2020 deaths
Actresses in Bengali cinema
20th-century Indian actresses
{{India-actor-stub